Carstairs Overhead Line Equipment renewals and upgrade

[subk2010]

Carstairs today: Materials are laid beside the tracks—Apologise for the quality of the photos.

 

[Snow1964]

Network Rail has today (20th February) released a Press Release about the closure, and subsequent disruption through to Sunday 4th June

The West Coast main line will close for 16 days in March as Network Rail engineers deliver a vital programme of work to upgrade Carstairs Junction.
The closure of the line, between March 4 and March 19, is the first phase of a three-month programme of work which will also see trains diverted and journey-times extended between March and June for all services between Glasgow/Edinburgh and Carlisle.

The work is part of a £164m Scottish Government investment to modernise the key junction for passenger and freight services.

It will also see the creation of Scotland’s largest freight loop, capable of accommodating 775m-long freight trains to help more businesses move goods off the road and onto rail to help achieve the Government’s Net Zero targets.
Engineers will simplify and upgrade the track-layout to clear an existing bottleneck on the network, making it more reliable and able to better cope with passenger and freight demands.

Work on this strategically important route will be complex and Network Rail will complete it in three phases designed to manage the effect on services in the least disruptive way.

During the first phase of the project – between Saturday March 4 and Sunday March 19, there will be no direct services to Glasgow Central and Edinburgh on the West Coast main line through Carstairs.

Phase two of the work, taking place between Monday March 20 and Friday April 21, will see part of the junction re-opening, allowing some trains to run directly to Edinburgh – and via diversion routes to Glasgow – on weekdays, however, journey times will be longer than normal.

The final phase, between Saturday April 22 and Sunday June 4, will see most services return to normal during weekdays with the junction fully closed each weekend.

During the later phases of the project, there will be no direct services between Glasgow Central or Edinburgh and Carlisle on the West Coast main line each weekend.

The closure of the junction will affect cross-border operators including, Avanti West Coast, Caledonian Sleeper, CrossCountry Trains, London North Eastern Railway and TransPennine Express, who will be operating via diversionary routes or offering alternative journey options during this time.

Services operating on the East Coast main line during this time are also likely to be busier than normal.

There will be no ScotRail services to or from Carstairs for the full three-month period. ScotRail will run a range of alternative journey options throughout with Carstairs station re-opening on Tuesday May 30.

£164m overhaul for key cross-border rail line

The West Coast main line will close for 16 days in March as Network Rail engineers deliver a vital programme of work to upgrade Carstairs Junction.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

 

[QueensCurve]

Network Rail has today (20th February) released a Press Release about the closure, and subsequent disruption through to Sunday 4th June

£164m overhaul for key cross-border rail line

The West Coast main line will close for 16 days in March as Network Rail engineers deliver a vital programme of work to upgrade Carstairs Junction.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

Do we have the updated track layout yet?

 

[och aye]

It's just a pity there's not enough money to reopen to Lampits high-speed cutoff (closed 1860)

Do you know why the section of track was closed? It does seem at first glance like an obvious line to have retained.

 

[30907]

(Deleted)

 

[The Planner]

Do we have the updated track layout yet?

It must be on one of the other threads as I know I have described it a good while back.

 

[swt_passenger]

Do you know why the section of track was closed? It does seem at first glance like an obvious line to have retained.

View attachment 129469
View attachment 129471

It was discussed in a 2021 thread. Out of use by 1860.

Could Carstairs be by-passed?

Must take issue with the poster who said 390s Pendolinos can and do travel direct from Carstairs station to Edinburgh . If he cares to look at RTT it clearly shows trains proceeding south and reversing at Carstairs S Jct and then back to Edinburgh . They alternately are booked via Shotts One...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[zwk500]

It must be on one of the other threads as I know I have described it a good while back.

You have described it but I couldn't find any diagrams when I went looking through the threads the other day.

 

[507020]

It was discussed in a 2021 thread. Out of use by 1860.

That’s no reason why it should not be reinstated now if it is a superior layout which would offer vastly improved line speeds compared to the present 20mph on what is a sharp curve.

 

[snowball]

It must be on one of the other threads as I know I have described it a good while back.

Possibly on page 2 (posts #49-51) of the thread that @swt_passenger has just linked?

Could Carstairs be by-passed?

Must take issue with the poster who said 390s Pendolinos can and do travel direct from Carstairs station to Edinburgh . If he cares to look at RTT it clearly shows trains proceeding south and reversing at Carstairs S Jct and then back to Edinburgh . They alternately are booked via Shotts One...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[The Planner]

That’s no reason why it should not be reinstated now if it is a superior layout which would offer vastly improved line speeds compared to the present 20mph on what is a sharp curve.

Who is to say it wasn't looked at and discounted for a valid reason?

 

[nlogax]

Who is to say it wasn't looked at and discounted for a valid reason?

Indeed. Going by the view south from the old Lampits junction site, nature and the soil have reclaimed what was theirs. Think it’s safe to assume that restoring an alignment that’s not existed in 160+ years would be require almost starting from scratch.

 

[najaB]

Indeed. Going by the view south from the old Lampits junction site, nature and the soil have reclaimed what was theirs. Think it’s safe to assume that restoring an alignment that’s not existed in 160+ years would be require almost starting from scratch.

It couldn't be that expensive in the grand scheme though. It's what, 600m over open terrain?

 

[zwk500]

It couldn't be that expensive in the grand scheme though. It's what, 600m over open terrain?

It depends if the farmer is willing to sell the land. If they aren't, it could quickly become more expensive than it's worth.

 

[Boodiggy]

Do we have the updated track layout yet?

I have seen them at work. Platforms now a loop away from UM and DM, which are both 110 EPS through the new alignment. Turnout now 40mph towards Edinburgh. I will have a look tomorrow to see if there is anything I am able to post

 

[Bald Rick]

It couldn't be that expensive in the grand scheme though. It's what, 600m over open terrain?

It’s a mile, would need a bridge, lots of earthworks, and two medium speed junctions. I reckon there’d be little change out of £70m. personally I think it’s a shame the case couldn’t be made, but the benedit would be relatively small - perhaps 2 minutes.

It depends if the farmer is willing to sell the land. If they aren't, it could quickly become more expensive than it's worth.

Regardless of whether he/she wanted to sell it or not, it would still be a new railway on what is now agricultural land and therefore require an Order made under the Transport & Works Act (Scotland) 2007.

 

[507020]

Who is to say it wasn't looked at and discounted for a valid reason?

No one. If it isn’t what they are doing, I am sure it is for a valid reason that it was discounted, not the invalid reason simply that it has been out of use for too long and that in itself doesn’t discount it from being reinstated in future upgrades if the situation is reassessed. HS2 for example.

I am planning to travel on both the G&SWR and Shotts diversionary routes, but are there any publicly accessible plans for the work being done at Carstairs as I would be quite interested.

 

[mcmad]

It’s a mile, would need a bridge, lots of earthworks, and two medium speed junctions. I reckon there’d be little change out of £70m. personally I think it’s a shame the case couldn’t be made, but the benefit would be relatively small - perhaps 2 minutes.
Regardless of whether he/she wanted to sell it or not, it would still be a new railway on what is now agricultural land and therefore require an Order made under the Transport & Works Act (Scotland) 2007.

which would take it from being a condition led renewal into the enhancements pipeline project (which is why it has deteriorated to the point of requiring the TSR) . If the powers that be think the benefits of the scheme cover the cost then it can still go ahead, these works are largely replacing

 

[snowball]

The Carstairs project has been talked about in this forum for several years. Over that time it seems to have undergone a few rounds of reduction in scope. In early posts it sounded like much more than a condition-based renewal. Though there was always a paucity of published detail.

 

[waverley47]

I knew it was somewhere.

The discussion about the Carstairs "Queen's Curve" can be found on this thread, from page three onwards.

 

[swt_passenger]

I knew it was somewhere.

The discussion about the Carstairs "Queen's Curve" can be found on this thread, from page three onwards.

Also in the other thread I mentioned in post #37. I think it’s been quite adequately covered before, it’s not likely to be reinstated.

 

[najaB]

Also in the other thread I mentioned in post #37. I think it’s been quite adequately covered before, it’s not likely to be reinstated.

In the current network, I agree. However, if Edinburgh-Glasgow HSR ever becomes a thing in the post-HS2 world, then it might be a useful thing to revisit, assuming that the high-speed line consists of upgrades to the existing route to support 150mph running rather than a complete new line.

This is on the assumption that the Eastern Leg isn't built and HS2 trains continue up the WCML.

 

[snowball]

This is on the assumption that the Eastern Leg isn't built and HS2 trains continue up the WCML.

Even when HS2 was proposed to go to Leeds with a link to Church Fenton, the main London-Edinburgh route was proposed to be via the WCML between Wigan and Carstairs.

 

[najaB]

Even when HS2 was proposed to go to Leeds with a link to Church Fenton, the main London-Edinburgh route was proposed to be via the WCML between Wigan and Carstairs.

Fair enough. I thought at one point the fastest London-Scotland route was proposed to be up the ECML via Leeds.

 

[Frankton Junct]

Today, I saw an Avanti voyager running empty through Pollokshaws West station. I assume that they are running for route learning for the voyager shuttle between Glasgow Central and Carlisle during the Carstairs blockade.

 

[och aye]

It was discussed in a 2021 thread. Out of use by 1860.

Could Carstairs be by-passed?

Must take issue with the poster who said 390s Pendolinos can and do travel direct from Carstairs station to Edinburgh . If he cares to look at RTT it clearly shows trains proceeding south and reversing at Carstairs S Jct and then back to Edinburgh . They alternately are booked via Shotts One...

www.railforums.co.uk

Thanks for the link. Quite incredible that the track was only in (little) use for just under a decade. I suppose in the Railway Mania days, there was a mantra of "build it and they will come"

 

[Bald Rick]

I suppose in the Railway Mania days, there was a mantra of "build it and they will come"

Sort of. It was “build it so we spend money that will otherwise be profit that Government will take from us in tax”

so there were lots of projects and no hope branch lines built to spend money to chase very marginal income.

 

[Class15]

Looking forward to the closure.

As someone who lives on the Crewe - Ipswich Freightliner route and who loves 90s, I think my reasoning is clear.

 

[Huntergreed]

So just a few points/questions I have.

“Phase 1” (running from this Saturday through to the 19th) I presume is to reinstate this piece of track (I presume as double track):


(Image shows a satellite view of the current layout at Carstairs, with a highlight over the old alignment (and what I believe to be the new alignment which will be getting completed in phase one?)

Following this, I presume this section of track will be opened and all services (whether bound for Edinburgh or Glasgow) will be routed this way during phase 2?

Phase 2 I presume will be redoing the layout at the actual station and on the Glasgow branch? (is there any diagram available? I’m really surprised we haven’t seen one yet to be honest!)

Finally, will the May 23 TT reflect the improved timings through Carstairs, or will this be Dec 23 (or later?)

 

[jfollows]

So just a few points/questions I have.

“Phase 1” (running from this Saturday through to the 19th) I presume is to reinstate this piece of track (I presume as double track):

View attachment 129984
(Image shows a satellite view of the current layout at Carstairs, with a highlight over the old alignment (and what I believe to be the new alignment which will be getting completed in phase one?)

Following this, I presume this section of track will be opened and all services (whether bound for Edinburgh or Glasgow) will be routed this way during phase 2?

Phase 2 I presume will be redoing the layout at the actual station and on the Glasgow branch? (is there any diagram available? I’m really surprised we haven’t seen one yet to be honest!)

Finally, will the May 23 TT reflect the improved timings through Carstairs, or will this be Dec 23 (or later?)

No, this old line is not being reinstated in any way. The existing line to Edinburgh will be realigned to allow higher speeds over the junction than today.